If you were a gay man livg England the mid-20th century you might greet your iends wh How bona to varda your dolly old eek....
Contents:
- THE FOTTEN SECRET LANGUAGE OF GAY MEN
- THIS SECRET LANGUAGE ALLOWED GAY MEN TO COMMUNITE WHEN HOMOSEXUALY WAS ILLEGAL
- GAY
THE FOTTEN SECRET LANGUAGE OF GAY MEN
* gay code language *
Vada (“look at”), dolly eek (a pretty face), and chicken (a young guy) are all words om the lexin of Polari, a secret language ed by gay men Bra at a time when homosexualy was illegal. In the 1930s was spoken among the theater typ of the Wt End, om which crossed over to the cy’s gay pubs, gag s stat as the secret language of gay men.
In England, homosexualy was officially nsired a crime until 1967, when the Sexual Offenc Act legalized private “homosexual acts” between nsentg adults over 21.
THIS SECRET LANGUAGE ALLOWED GAY MEN TO COMMUNITE WHEN HOMOSEXUALY WAS ILLEGAL
) The Act me a after the ernment’s Wolfenn Report, which igned bate by remendg the partial crimalizatn of homosexual acts. Durg the terim years, when beg openly non-straight brought the risks of social isolatn and crimal prosecutn, Polari provid gay men wh a subtle way to fd one another for pannship and sex.
GAY
Among nfirmed gay men, however, there was nothg subtle about Polari nversatns.